Former city councilor moonlights as movie extra

WORCESTER — Anyone heading to the movies right now could catch a glimpse of former Worcester city councilor Joffrey A. Smith.

Mr. Smith has steadily worked as an extra and actor in commercials. When the Robert Downey Jr. movie "The Judge" is released next year, people will see Mr. Smith in a well-known Worcester setting as well, the Worcester Regional Airport.

Mr. Smith, 32, was an extra in the movie scene filmed Friday at the airport. Filming for the movie, which stars Mr. Downey, Robert Duvall, Vincent D'Onofrio and Leighton Meester, has taken place across Massachusetts.

According to the movie database website IMDb.com, the plot of "The Judge" surrounds a successful lawyer who heads home to attend his mother's funeral and finds his father, a town judge, is a murder suspect. The release date is 2014.

"I had actually auditioned for a good-sized speaking role in the movie," said Mr. Smith, who runs a financial services company, the Joffrey Smith Financial Group, on Park Avenue. "They were looking for someone a little older than me. It was great to get an opportunity to audition for a large role."

The audition was to play a veteran prosecutor. Even though Mr. Smith didn't get the part, he was asked by the casting company to work as an extra. He is paid for all of his gigs.

During his roughly nine hours on set inside the airport, Mr. Smith dressed in three different outfits as he walked by Mr. Downey. Mr. Smith plays a patron of the airport. For one scene he donned a suit sans tie, then jeans and polo, and another time a shirt and khaki pants.

"I did get a chance to interact with him," Mr. Smith said about the movie star. "He is a really nice guy. I was right next to him in the scene."

This isn't the first time the airport was changed into a movie set. Last year a Hollywood production crew shot scenes for "Captain Phillips," which stars Tom Hanks. Mr. Smith worked as an extra for that movie, too.

In 2009, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz were at Worcester Regional Airport for several days shooting scenes for the action thriller "Knight & Day."

Richard Walsh, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, said several Massport sites have been scouted in the past. MassPort was contacted about shooting at the Worcester airport and a tour of the facility was conducted, he said.

Mr. Walsh said not hindering operations of the airport is the first priority. In this case only private pilots were using the airport at the time of filming.

Filming is good for the local economy. Local hotels are used and local companies given work, Mr. Smith said. He believes the tax incentives offered in Massachusetts are a draw.

Scenes for "American Hustle," starring Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams, were filmed in Worcester earlier this year and drew crowds at different locations. Mr. Smith dressed as a 1970s disco patron in the movie during a scene with Mr. Cooper.

Signed with the Boston-based agency Model Club Inc., Mr. Smith said he can be viewed as an extra in three movies in theaters now. He is in "The Heat," starring Sandra Bullock, and in "R.I.P.D.," starring Ryan Reynolds.

He also appears in "Grown Ups 2," the follow to "Grown Ups," which was filmed in Southboro. Mr. Smith plays a partygoer in "Grown Ups 2," and is right near stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Chris Rock when a fight erupts in the scene. Mr. Smith was in Swampscott for filming.

Mr. Smith had worked with Mr. Sandler already, on his flick "That's My Boy," as the baseball technical advisor. He set up the baseball scenes and played catch with the well-known actor.

"He is really a great guy. He is very personal," Mr. Smith said about the former Saturday Night Live star. "He is a big sports guy. He is a good athlete."

Mr. Smith has been pretty busy, receiving acting roles in commercials or work in print advertisements. He recently shot an ad for Keurig and has also been in commercials for ESPN, Verizon and other companies. He also has a solid speaking role in an independent film.

He has enough waivers to be eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild.

"It is nice to have a little side income," Mr. Smith said. "It's been cool. Now I have been transitioning from the extra work to getting auditions for some of the good-sized speaking roles. You never know what could happen."